


Denouement

by The_Readers_Muse



Category: Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Missing Scene, Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:28:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24812326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Readers_Muse/pseuds/The_Readers_Muse
Summary: Foolish girl!
Relationships: Catherine Morland & Henry Tilney, Catherine Morland/Henry Tilney
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Denouement

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own "Northanger Abbey" or any of Jane Austen's characters, wishful thinking aside.
> 
> Authors Note #1:I wanted to explore what was going on in Mr. Tilney's mind when he left Northanger Abbey after his confrontation with Catherine in his mother's rooms.
> 
> Warnings: angst, romance, pining, drama, missing scene.

_"You said yourself the house was full of secrets!"_

_"And so you decided that my father must be a murderer...when to you, at least, he has shown nothing but kindness? Catherine...how could you? What sort of a fevered imagination must you have? ...Perhaps, after all, it is possible to read too many novels."_

* * *

The anger and hurt churning in his breast wasn't like him. Nor had its causation come from Miss Morland with malice. If anything, they showed a genuine concern for his late mother. And he and his sister's welfare. But for a time, he cultivated it regardless.

 _Foolish girl!_  
  
His fists clenched around the bridle as he leaned into the wind. Pressing his chin into his charger's mane. Inhaling the familiar scent of horse-sweat and green. Embracing every inch of the experience as he fed the feeling without thought.

The words were harsh.

Too harsh, in truth.

Perhaps, he realized, as he pushed the creature faster through the moors, it had upset him because it was true. At least in its baser meaning. There were no otherworldly creatures haunting his father's house. No vampires. No monsters. In a sense, it was worse than that. The most beastly creatures were men, after all.

A frown twisted across his lips before the wind whipped it off again.

She was young. Impressionable. _Good._

He reminded himself of that even as memories he'd pushed down long ago threatened to flood back. His mother had died twice, in a sense. And that was an offense he could not forgive. His father had killed her heart long before her body had followed. And worse, he had not learned from those mistakes. Even now he knew that Miss Morland was only their guest because of her connections. Because it would be advantageous to tie their families together. Not because he wanted to foster any true, genuine connection between them.

Though, even that was in question. For more and more he doubted Miss Morland had the connections and currency his father craved.

It was a reality he cared little for. Miss Morland did not need be an adopted heiress to have his affections. She had much to recommend her. Even now, when she'd angered him.

Anger.

No, it wasn't that.

It was-

He drew his horse up short, breathing just as hard as the animal quivering under him as he realized the true extent of his folly.

_It was pride._

She had hurt his pride with her questions.

Her censure of his father, childish as she might have been, were instincts proven true.

 _Lord._ He was a fool.

He'd been so tepid in his person. Allowing his father to dictate his life – his happiness – so completely he'd nearly lost his senses. He, at least, had the ability to strike out on his own. His sister was captive by the grace of her sex, but he did not have to remain the same. Shackled and purposely blinded. Familial responsibly could only extend so far. Yet, he had accepted his father's rudeness. His coldness. His disdain for anything but the lonely pursuit of fortune and power.

That was not the life he wanted.

Nor was it the example he wished to set with his dedication to the church.

But he had excused it from the ones closest to him just the same.

Miss Morland had merely exposed his weakness of character.

And he had-

He cursed, the words terrible and unfamiliar on his lips as he kicked his horse into motion. Wheeling to the east towards his small estate to change clothes and gain a fresh horse.

He had to speak to Miss Morland immediately.

**Author's Note:**

> Reference:
> 
> \- Denouement: the resolution of the narrative.


End file.
